Motor Stereotypic Behaviors in Zoo Rhesus Monkeys: a Case Study of the Central Zoo, Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

Motor stereotypic behaviors (MSBs) are a kind of repetitive behaviors performed by stressed animals and are more common in captivity. This study aimed to assess whether the MSB in captive rhesus monkeys varies between males and females, and with the extent of visitor-monkey interactions. A group of six rhesus monkeys (two adult males and four adult females; among females, two were rescued from the wild and two were captive-born) housed in the Central Zoo, Kathmandu Nepal were sampled in the study. Behavioral observations were done by focal animal sampling for 30 minutes in each session from 8:00 AM till 10:00 AM in the absence of visitors and 10:00 AM–12:00 PM in the presence of visitors. At every 10 minutes interval, the number of visitors around the cage and the level of visitor-monkey interactions were scanned. Pacing and bounce were the MSBs performed by the zoo rhesus monkeys. Females, especially the rescued ones, performed significantly more MSBs than the males. An increase in visitor-monkey interaction involved the monkeys into more begging and feeding, which in turn lowered the MSBs. The findings of this study indicate that interactive enrichment such as feeding and visitor-monkey interactions help to reduce MSBs in zoo monkeys.